If God said, 'Rumi pay homage to everything that has helped you enter my arms,' there would not be one experience of my life, not one thought, not one feeling, nor any act, I would not bow to.Rumi
oh my 2013 - you have been a humdinger, you have put a shit kickin' into me.

You have been an extremely trying year. You have been difficult, continually anxiety & fear inducing. This year I have failed repeatedly, made huge mistakes, fallen down, picked myself back up, fallen down again & again & again. You 2013 have made me angry, sad, worried, anxious (so anxious in fact that I have a pain in my stomach way too much of the time). You have been a busy year, far too busy, too busy to think straight busy. 2013 you have sucked, you have been way too hard.

Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavour. Truman Capote

If you remember my one little word for this year was "ease"(insert tres ironic & boisterous laugh track here). As we near the end of this year 2013 (& good riddance I yell), Grace thankfully has arrived, late to the party as usual, but with Grace's arrival I'm realizing that Yes, this has been the year of the hard knocks, this has been the year of mistakes & failures (and big ones). It has also been the year of intense & invaluable learning and growth, I can see that now. Frustrating as it is while you're mired in the muck of bad decisions & uncomfortable feelings, once cracked open those baddest bads always hold the golden tickets - the tickets that allow you to leap and bound forward fast and furiously, more confidently into the future holding Grace's hand as you go. The baddest bads inevitably hold the greatest lessons. The baddest bads teach you, the hard way, what you do not want & what you will not stand for. & can I have a hallelujah for that most excellent nugget ?

Success is stumbling from failure to failurewith no loss of enthusiasm.Winston Churchill

I'm planning a longer more in-depth post about this whole idea of choosing a one word mantra for the year and also about the fact that "ease" actually has made perfect sense. I'll admit way back in Jan 2013 I was sure that by choosing "ease" as my word I was setting out the welcome mat encouraging plus de Ease to come my way.

Now as we near the end of the year I realize "ease" still was the perfect word. Perfect in that it's had me study & reevaluate the meaning of that word, especially when it comes to my life and most of all how much of my dis-ease is entirely created in my own mind and of my own free will.

I am thrilled with my wee ease rug hooked mat as I'm sure you may have noticed, it has a prominent place at my desk and in my life.

Faith is my word for 2014

I love your comments they mean the world to me much love xoxox Susan + gang

Gorgeous images dear Susan, you take the most amazing photographs.Loved reading your words, every year we grow more and learn more about ourselves from the experiences that test us.I hope there will be more 'Ease' in 2014 and much more 'Faith' in yourself and the beauty and ability you possess and share.love and hugs, Diannexoxoxo ♡

You know the one thing I love about you, Susan, is that regardless of how many times you fall, you know how to get back up and soar higher than you did the time before. Believing in you all the way! :)